Boltless rack shelving



H. C. BAKER AND E. G. LEHMAN.

BOLTLESS RACK SHELVING.

APPLICATION FILED AuG.I2. 1920.

1,411,260. vPatented A1114, 1922.

4 SHhLTS-SHEET l.

'IIIIIII I III .I III I WMA/MAPS H. C. BAKER AND E. G. LEHMAN.

BOLTLESS RACK SHELVING.

APPLICATION FILED AuG.I2. 1920.

Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H. c. BAKER AND E. GQ LEHMAN.

. BOLTLESS RACK SHELVING. APPLICATION FILED AUG-IZ., 1920.

1,411,260.v lvanaAprA, 1922.

4 SHLETS-SHEET 3.

eww 7%@ l "if, 1,111.1 l, I 4

.A H. C. BAKER AND E.. G. LEHMAN.

BOLTLESS- RACK SHELVING.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.I2. 1920.

' 1,411,260. Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

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`UNIT-ED STATES HENRY CJBAKER ANDIVEDWABD G. LEHMAN, OF CANTON, OHIO, lASSIGNORS, BY IIIFSNEo` PATENT oFFlcE.

ASSIGNMENTS, TO 'UNITED ALLOY STEEL CORPORATION, OF CANTON, OHIO, A COR- PORATION OF lNEW YORK.

BoLTLEss BACK sHELvINe.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRY C. BAKER and EDWARD G. LEHMAN, both. citizens of the United States, residing at Canton, in the county of Stark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements vin Boltless Rack Shelving, of which the following is a s ecification.

The invention relates to rack shelving for use in shops, factories, warehouses 4and other places for 'storing materials; and the object of the invention is to make all the parts of sheet metal without the use of bolts or special fastening means, and to join the parts together so that they may be knocked down for shipment -and readilyreassembled, and will withstand the strains and stresses of use without special bracing means.

The objects of the invention, thus set forthy in general terms, may be attained by the preferred embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a perspective view of shelving embodying the invention;

Fig. 2, an enlarged fragmentary perspective view with th'e parts broken away, showing details of construction;

` Fig. 3, a detached perspective view of a shelf;

' Fig. 4, a detached perspective view .of a longitudinal bar;

Fig. 5, a detached perspective view of a transverse bar; l. ,A l

Fig. 6, 'a fragmentary plan section, with parts broken away, showing ,details of a frame joint. I y Fig. 7,- a fragmentary section of the line 7-7, Fig. 6';

Fig. 8, a fragmentary section of the line 8-"8, Fig. 6;

Fig. 9, a fragmentary perspective view, with arts broken away, showing details of a mo ified form of frame.

Fig. 10, a fragmentary vplan section, with parts broken. away, showing details of the modified frame jolnt; y

Fig.' 11, a fragmentary section on line 1111,Fig.-10. 1

Fig. 12, a perspective view of the modi-l i fied form of the longitudinal bar; and

Fig. 13, a detached perspective view of the modified form of shelf.

vSpecification of Letters Patent.

. down turned fia Patented Apr. 4., 1922.

Application led August 12, 1920. Serial 170.403,028.

vSimilar numerals referring to 'similar parts throughout the drawing.

The shelving members are the uprlght vposts or columns 1, the longitudinal bars 2,

the transverse bars 3, and the shelf plates 4; all of which may be made of sheet metal cut and shaped for assembling without special fastening means.

Each upright member is shaped to form a deep channel with its sides 5 extending inward from the face of the shelving, and these sides are provided with a'series of longitudinal elongated slots 6 for receiving the ends of the longitudinal bars v2.

Each longitudinal member 2 is shaped to forin an angle bar, with its wider vertical vfiailge 7 folded upon itself to increase its bearing strength, and the narrower flange 8 is cut away at each end, so that the end portions 9 of the upright flange may be passed through the slots 6 in both sides of an p right member, and the cut ends-10 of he` horizontal xflange will abut the side walls of the upright member. The end portions 9 of the vertical flange are cutto form the rectangular notches 11 for receiving and interlocking with the sidewalls 12 of the transverse bars 3. y

Each transverse bar 3 is shaped to form an inverted channel of a width to neatly enter and abut betweenthe side walls of the upright' channel members 1, and rectangularnotches are cut n ear the ends of its flanges `12 of a width for receiving .and neatly fitting the Width of two vertical iangesof the longitudinal bars. The sidefflan es'12` are also slit at 14 adjacent to the `noto es 13, and the middle portions 15 of these flanges are bent upward to form the narrfow channels 16 for receiving the downturned flanges 17 on the ends of the shelf plates 4L AEach .shelf sheet/1 `is shaped to `form the lge 17 along eachv end, and the downturned anges .18 along each side; and the corners vare 'cut away to form the notches` 19 for neatly fitting the Asides and rear edges of, the Hanges'pof the upright members The sheet metal members thus cut vand 'shaped are readily assembled b insertin the end portions 9 of the vertica flanges o two longitudinal members through the elontirely fill and fit the apertures of the slots 6 therein. The end of a transverse bar is then entered between the side wall flanges of the upright bar above the overlapping ends of the longitudinalbars, whereupon the transverse bar is pushed downward so that-'its `flanges 12 will neatly-fit between the side edges of the notches 11F in the overlappin upright:fianges of the longitudinal bars, an

p Athe edges of the notches 13 in the flanges of the transverse bar will engage the sides of .the overlapping ends of the'longitudinal bars below the notches-11 therein; thus rigidly interlocking all the frame members together. The shelf sheets are then placed in position with the end flanges 17 entered in the narrow vcha-nnels 16 along the sides of the transverse bars and the side flanges 18 harig downward ver'the free edge of the horizontal fianges of the longitudinal bars, the

parts being preferably so proportioned and arranged that lthe plane of the shelf sheet 4 will coincidepwith the web of the transL verse bars 3.

By this construction and arrangement thel frame members are rigidly interlocked together at each frameA joint, by the labutment sheets' 4.

offthe side flanges of the transverse members against the inner -sidesof the walls of the upright members', bythe interlocking engagement of the notched ends of the transverse member with the overlapping vertical flan es of two longitudinal members immedlately inside the vwalls of the upright' members, and by the engagement of the overlapping ends of two longitudinal membersA in the elongated slots in the side walls of the' upright members.

In' the modified construction shown in` Figs. 9 to 13 inclusive-ofthe drawings, the transverse bars are omitted andend flanges of the sheet metal shelves Vare substituted c therefor. 'In the modified form there is no change in the upright, channel member at or in. the longitudinal angle 2, except lthat the notches 11 in the ends of the upright. flanges 7 are located and cutso as to be posi,- tioned midway between the side wall vflanges of the upright member and to neatly receive the width of two end flanges 17 of the shelf In the modified form the shelf` sheets are made long enough so that the end flan es 17a will abut each other and the end portions of its side flanges 18a are cut way and the slots 19a are cut in the shelf sheet to neatly fit the side walls of the upright members; while the notches 13a are cut in the end flanges of the shelf sheets of a width for receivingand fitting the width of the overlapping end portions of two 'longitudinalbars. In the modified form the corners of the shelf sheets areassembled and interlocked with' the upright longitudinal members by interengaging the notched ends of the overlapping longitudinal members after the same have beeninserted through the slots-in the side walls of the upright' members; and it is evident that a rigid joint is thus formed.

In fact, the abutment of the interengaging parts within the hollow upright member in" both forms of the invention makes such a rigid joint that the abutment of the flanges -on the longitudinal bars against the sides of the upright member is no t any essential feature of the invention, and these flanges can be omitted entirely, or shortened at'each end as shown in Figs. 9-to 12, if desired; but it is preferred to use these flanges in abutment with the upright members for the increased bracing effect therebygiven the rack frame.-

1. Metal shelf construction including a hollow upright member having corresponding slots in its side walls, longitudinal bars having overlapping ends each lexltending through the slots in both walls and having ber alnd interengaging with the bar notches l for locking them in place. v

3.- Shelving construction including a hollow lupright member having corresponding slots in its side walls, longitudinal bars having overlapping ends extending through the slots in both walls and having register notches therein, and flanges abutting the side walls thereof, and a notched member in-` terengaging with the them together.

4. Metal shelf construction including a hollow upright member having corresponding -slots in its side walls, longitudinalbars` having overlapping ends each, extending throughthe slots in bothwalls and having register notches therein, a transverse bar extending into the hollow of the upright member and having a notched end for interengaging with the longitudinal bar notches for locking them'together.

5.. Metal shelf construction including an uprlght channel member having corres onding slots in its sidewalls, longitudinabars having overlapping ends each extending through the slots in both walls and having register notches therein, and a transverse bar notches for locking channel bar extending into the upright `channel with its anges in abutment with the Walls thereof andl having notches for inter'- en aging with the notches `in the longitudina bar for locking them together.

6. Metal shelf construction including an upright hollow member having a slot in its side wall, and a 'longitudinal angle bar having its vertical flange folded upon itself andI extended through said slot, and its horizon- 10 tallange cut to abut the side of the upright member adjacent t0 the slot, and meansvfor locking the parts together.

HENRY C. BAKER. EDWARD G. LEHMAN.v 

